Virus Scans, or Exploiting Your Commanding Officer
by Burnedtoasty
Summary: G1: Scanning for computer viruses, and vaccinating against new ones, is an important part of every giant-alien-robot-warrior's yearly routine. Skywarp just wants to do his part in aiding his fellows. Especially if it means dragging them screaming there.


**Disclaimer**: _I, in no way, shape, or form, own the Transformers© franchise or the characters it contains. All publicly recognizable characters are copyrighted to Hasbro, and the respective artists/writers/et cetera. No infringement intended._

**Continuity**: Generation One (G1) cartoon-verse

**Characters**: Skywarp, Thundercracker, Soundwave, Megatron, Starscream, Hook, Mixmaster, Scavenger, Bonecrusher, Long Haul, Scrapper

**Warnings**: None.

**Author's Note**: Criticism encouraged, technical points preferable.

--

"Ow," Skywarp gingerly prodded the ominous white band on the side of his throat, grimacing. Beside him, and in roughly the same state of sensitivity, reclined Thundercracker, who simply cradled the site of his pain. The two Seekers, fresh from the med bay, had fled as soon as the gestalts had opened the door, skirting their customary haunts to commandeer the small parts cargo hold. Along for the trip were four cubes of filched energon – specifically, their own rations, as well as Dirge's and Ramjet's. They felt it had a certain poetic justice to it, if only for the fact that they didn't like the conehead Seekers.

"I can't believe they got the drop on us like that," groused Thundercracker, kicking at a particularly wel--placed wire container. "I mean, we even _knew_ we were slotted for virus scans this week."

"It was a dirty trick," Skywarp concurred, sullen to have been caught by the dastardly gestalts. For the better half of the three months, he had been studiously avoiding the Constructicons, and had even taken extra shifts on the duty roster to spend as little time as possible in the Headquarters. He had done everything he could short of teleporting into the Autobots' base and hiding in their holding cells to avoid the ignominy of a virus scan. And yet, and _yet_…

"I knew 'Soundwave overcharged off his aft' was too good to be true," griped the notorious prankster, seizing one of their ill-gotten gains. He brandished it expansively, compounding his point. "But could I really say no? No, not me. I walked right into it, with a smile." Sighing, he settled back to enjoy the energon, glaring into the dimness cast by the lone light source. "Tch, didn't even see Bonecrusher until I was flat on the table. And then it was too late."

"And you just _had_ to call me down as well," Thundercracker lightly punched his compatriot on one arm, scowling. The motion, however, put a strain on his newest 'battle wound', causing the assault to end rather swiftly. Muttering invectives against all vaccines, Thundercracker again cupped the humiliating white band, reaching for his own share of the energon.

Skywarp shot him an indignant glower, huffy. "Well, of _course_. I didn't want to be the only one to suffer."

"Well, thank you very much, Mister Considerate." Muttered the blue Seeker around the lip of the energon cube. "Now we're both marked."

"It's humiliating!" Skywarp declared, shaking a fist at the absent gestalts that had so thwarted his attempts at shirking. "Being duped by a pack of, of… Constructi-dorks! I have a reputation to uphold."

"Had." Thundercracker amended smugly.

"Pfft," Waving off the semantics, Skywarp gesticulated extravagantly, trying to sum up his initial argument. When he couldn't quite find the right words to begin again, he sat back with a nettled sigh. "You're not helping, TC."

"You might as well be accurate," Thundercracker unapologetically replied, tossing aside the now-empty cube. "Hand me the next one."

"Get it yourself," Peeved, Skywarp resolutely wrenched away, sulking.

"I'm sorry, alright? Whiny as a glider, I swear." Sounding far from contrite, Thundercracker merely leaned his bulk across Skywarp, reaching across his lap to capture up the successive part of his share. Meanwhile, the Decepticon below him protested raucously, swatting at the wingtip that thwacked his head rather painfully.

"Get your fragging wing outta my face!" Skywarp complained, trying to hold his face away while moving his neck as little as possible, to avoid aggravating his injury.

Thundercracker made a show of lifting the offending wingtip away, shooting his complaining wing mate a sour glance once he was back in his upright position. "Well excuse me. If you would have just handed it to me, I wouldn't have to crawl all over your ugly bulk."

Skywarp harrumphed, wounded despite himself.

"Aw, 'Warp, don't get all prissy." Thundercracker slumped back, glaring at nothing in particular. "You know I don't mean it."

"Then why'd you _say_ it?" Demanded the offended Seeker, archly watching Thundercracker from the corner of one optic.

"You're in just as bad a mood as me," Thundercracker neatly dodged, reflecting the blame back on the wing mate beside him. Then, to reestablish camaraderie, he complained of their mutual grievance, "Stupid virus scans always get me antsy. My internals will be fritzing all _week_." He rubbed the tiny white band once more, unhappy. "Hate it. Hate it more than Screamer in a tiff."

"Ugh," Skywarp grunted, in concord. "Just think about—"

_\Just where are you lumps at? Get your sorry shells up to the Command deck_.\ As if summoned, the Air Commander's distinctively strident voice filled their audios.

Guiltily starting, the two reflexively tried to hide their extra rations, gawking about in alarm for a spell before realizing it was only the internal comm. link. \_What's in it for us_?\ Skywarp snapped, feeling particularly belligerent since he was clearly out of range of null rays.

_\Tell me, how do you feel about keeping your arms attached to your body_?\ Came the syrupy retort, crackling back over the radio link.

_\Like to see you try_,\ Thundercracker broke in, sneering. \_You can't_ make _us go anywhere, if you can't even find us_.\

There was a long moment of quiet, followed by the pneumatic hiss of the door sliding open. The lights cheerily clicked on full force, forcing both Seekers to dampen their optics. \_Deck three, cargo bay twelve. Get up here_.\

"Yeah, yeah," Thundercracker, stymied, grumbled to the room in general, neglecting to broadcast back over the comm. link. "Sometimes it's the worst to live in an underwater base swarming with radar and sensors."

"Cheers to that," Skywarp stretched, rising to his feet with a grimace. "Let's see what O-Great-Screaming-One has shoved up his exhaust now."

--

"Decided to take the scenic route?" Starscream deadpanned dryly as the rest of the trine filtered into the command deck. He didn't bother to glance up, absorbed in whatever he was clicking away at in the datapad. Both feet were propped up on a computer terminal, crossed nonchalantly in such a way that seemed _designed_ to be irksome. Admittedly, it probably was. "Or did you short out from overexertion of your logic centers halfway here?" He smirked slightly, idly adding some information into his report.

"Love you too, Screamer," Skywarp hissed back, irate. Seizing an empty chair, the Seeker flopped down with all the grace of a high-speed collision.

"You're slipping, _Warpy_, if that's the best you've got," Satisfied with whatever data he had put in, the wing leader looked up with a minor sneer.

Preemptively, Thundercracker bullied in before Skywarp could properly form a retort, groaning, "What do you _want_?"

Starscream, plainly hankering for a verbal confrontation, gave his wing mate an embittered glower, before brandishing his datapad to draw attention to it. When he received only blank gaping, he set aside the improvised flag, elucidating. "You switched yourselves out of spacebridge guard duty this afternoon. Why?"

"Why does it matter? Guard detail's _boring_." Skywarp waved off the question, tapping one foot irreverently against the floor. "Is that all?"

"You've both been scrambling for guard and patrol shifts for months," Starscream, unconvinced of the answer, swung his legs casually off the terminal, spinning his seat around so he could give them a proper Glare of Doom. "And then, inexplicably, you take yourselves off of all lists, without warning. I had to modify _everyone_'s schedule, and re-format the roster."

"So?" Thundercracker asked, determined to be as problematic as achievable. "Why's that our problem?"

"_So_," Starscream drew out the word with his own brand of snarkiness, perturbed that his trine had abruptly decided to become even more difficult than usual. "I'm curious. I'll admit it. That being established, again: why?"

"Virus scans," Skywarp supplied, pointing at the white band on his throat as if it would explicate everything.

"Virus scans?" Starscream warbled back needlessly, optics drawn to the heinous mark. Quite flustered, he glanced between them, incredulous. "_Now_?"

"Well, we've been avoiding them for… hey," Skywarp interrupted himself, sitting up in surprise. "You don't have a band thing! You haven't got your vaccination?"

Though it was far too late, Screamer twisted himself slightly, as if to hide his unmarked throat. "I didn't know they were doing scans yet. It wasn't in any time slot. I've been busy." Rapid fire, he shot off the justifications as to why he was still untouched to the waiting trine. Then, nervously scanning the immediate area, he twirled back around to snatch up his datapad and sprang to his feet. "I'll get one when I'm done."

The other Seekers regarded him dubiously, CPU churning through the presented information.

"Screamer," Skywarp rose to his feet with deliberate slowness, struggling to keep from chortling. In a reprimanding tenor, he blurted: "You're not _afraid_ of virus scans, are you?"

"No!" Starscream snapped, and then waved off the question flippantly, negating the perhaps too-swift assertion to the negative. "Don't be preposterous. I'm _going_ to get one." Then, haughtily, "Though it's not like it's a very pressing need. Unlike _some_ I could mention," He shot Skywarp a dirty, reproachful look, "_I_ don't go around downloading random files from that disgusting filth that is the 'internet' to bother Soundwave."

"Are you trying to accuse us of something?" Thundercracker assumed a faux-innocent, wide-optic'd face, voice quavering timorously.

"No, you dolt, clearly I'm commenting on the—" Catching himself, the Air Commander shook his head, striding purposefully past his wing mates. "I don't have time for you morons."

"Don't forget to get your scan!" Skywarp all-but tittered, leaning with cavalier indolence against the vacated terminal. He waved cheerily at the deathly glower cast back at him, and promptly doubled up laughing once the door closed. "Oh, TC, I've got to see it. C'mon, we're going to the repair bay."

"What?" Thundercracker ogled his companion, startled. "Again? Why?"

"I'm going to have a little chat with the 'Structies," Replied the prankster, shooting for ominous foreshadowing, but coming out a few shades shy of stilted. Blissfully ignorant, he switched gears, grinning maliciously as the potential for mischief grew in his mind. "Y'know… just to be sure that everyone gets vaccinated."

--

Hook glanced about sharply as the door hissed open. Feeling somewhat generous, he addressed the newly-appeared Seekers, snapping, "What? Do you two louts need a second shot?" before going back to whatever it was he and two of his fellow Constructicons were doing, huddled over a table.

His patented notorious smirk faltering, Skywarp took a step back, nearly tipping over Thundercracker, who hovered at his back uncertainly. "No, no, its taken. I'm good." Putting his hands up placatingly, the Seeker edged further in, his scanners taking in the presence of the other Constructicons scattered around the room. Long Haul, Scrapper, and Hook sat around the table, diagrams, spreadsheets, and datapads spread out between them – though admittedly, Long Haul seemed to be doing little other than watching. Mixmaster was off to the far left, doing… whatever it was that he did in his spare moments, though it was noted the others kept a distance between themselves and the madcap chemist. Scavenger and Bonecrusher were propped up on the right, with what appeared to be large playing cards in stacks before them. "No need to get hasty with the stabby-sticks."

Ever disturbing, Mixmaster cackled, hunched over his better-left-unknown substance. "Too-too-too bad."

Ignoring the chemist, Scrapper pointed toward the door, peeved at the needless interruption. "You don't seem to be malfunctioning any more than usual. Get out." The Constructicon flicked one hand at the pair, clearly dismissing them.

"Aw, don't be like that," Skywarp shrugged nonchalantly, though he warily watched the other parts of the gestalt team out of the corner of one optic. One could never be too careful when dealing with the Constructicons. "I was just wondering… who all is left for the ol' scan?"

"I don't see why it would concern you," Seeing that the Seekers had no intention of leaving for the moment, Hook turned about, staring at them flatly.

"We're just interested in our own safety," Skywarp put up his best innocuous smile, attempting to charm the gestalt team. "As well as our teammates. All for one, and one for all, or something like that."

"Didn't seem to stop you from trying to avoid it," Bonecrusher chimed in, leveling a mirthful sneer upon the Seekers. "Kicking and screaming the whole way. Seekers always thrash the hardest."

"Do you have a point for this visit?" Scrapper interrupted the fray, setting down the datapad with the latest plan outlines aside.

"Well, actually, I do." Skywarp, grateful for the conversation opening, sidled further into the Constructicons domain, Thundercracker clinging close behind him. "It actually involves our illustrious Air Commander. We—"

"Don't tell me," Scrapper grunted, seeming to predict the next part of the dialogue. "He's going to skip out on another virus scan." Shaking his head in disgust, the plans master picked back up his discarded datapad, irked. "Do any of you grunts understand the meaning of 'mandatory'?"

"Another, huh?" Skywarp queried rhetorically, optics flashing brightly.

"You try dragging him in here," Bonecrusher harrumphed, frowning mightily at whatever play Scavenger had made. "Can't do a thing about it until he's in the 'bay. Can't be bothered to really go looking for him." Shrugging expansively, point made, the brawler handed over his card, grumbling a few choice words under his vocalizer. Scavenger, for his part, simply oozed triumph, neatly slapping down a pair from his own hand.

"Right, right," Skywarp said absently, processors already far away. "C'mon, TC." Hooking his discomfited companion, the Seeker dragged him back through the door, ignoring the manic sniggered coming from Mixmaster's side of the repair bay.

"What was that all about, 'Warp?" Asked the blue Seeker, shrugging off his insistent trinemate. Casting a dark optic over the closed doors, Thundercracker shuddered, and quickly began to head toward more neutral territory, hoping to procure a bit of fortifying energon to steady his sensors.

Skywarp fell into step beside him. Grinning broadly, with the portentous bounce in his gait, he declared: "We're going to do something. Something for the good of the base." He drew himself up self-importantly, striking a dramatic pose. Thus set, he intoned with all the pomp of a drunken Air Marshall, "Virus scans are important, and I refuse to let anyone be at risk. It's my duty, as a Decepticon loyalist."

"Meaning you want everyone to be in the same boat as you," Thundercracker translated dryly, turning the corner. "And you're going to use me, too. Probably for something humiliating."

"It warms my spark to know we can be so honest with each other, TC," Skywarp chuckled, patting his wing mate on the shoulder intakes. "But no; it won't be so bad. We might catch some flak for it later, but I swear it will be worth it."

"Ah, don't tell me you're—"

"Don't be so quick to judge," Steering his reluctant accomplice toward the command deck, Skywarp continued with a misleading flippancy, "We won't be exactly doing anything wrong. Kind of. Well, maybe a little."

Considering, Thundercracker dimmed his optics. "I'm not going to like it, am I?"

"Honestly? Probably not. It involves a lot of running. But I will enjoy it."

"Huh. That's all that counts." Heaving a bracing sigh, Thundercracker resigned himself to his fate. Arguing with Skywarp over a prank, no matter how dastardly it might be, never ended any other way. "Let's get it over with, already, you maniac."

--

Starscream edged into the control room, casting a wary optic over the premises. Megatron was at his customary post, staring intimidatingly at the room in general, letting his commanding presence do the reprimanding for him. Soundwave was settled at a terminal, reviewing a video feed from Laserbeak, from inside the Autobots' headquarters. It looked innocuous enough… well, as much as the command deck did anyhow.

Casting a suspicious gaze over the general assembly, the Air Commander made a highly abnormal unobtrusive entrance, skulking along the rim of the deck to a terminal to enter in his report. What was most important was duping his fellow officers. Anyone who could coerce him into the medical bay, for any reason, was considered a maximum hazard. Acutely aware of the peril, he nonetheless had to risk it; an unfilled report would undoubtedly catch someone's attention, and who knew what they might happen to inconveniently remember.

In the proverbial clear, Starscream settled himself at a seat, plugging in his personal datapad. The scrupulous information skimmed across the screen, adding itself to the archives. Of course, every scrap of relevant information to the goings on in the base was jotted down; the Air Commander was fanatical about details. This had the unfortunate effect of making any data transfer excruciatingly prolonged. The longer he stayed in the room, the more likely he was to be noticed (though in truth, most were just thankful he wasn't raising some ruckus, and fully intended to ignore the Seeker completely). Tapping his foot impatiently, Starscream glanced discreetly out of the corner of one optic, groundlessly distrustful of Soundwave's customary bland manner.

The communications master, aware of the inconspicuous scrutiny, tilted his head in acknowledgment, meeting the surreptitious glare levelly. It just so happened that the gesture unintentionally (or perhaps deliberately; it was difficult to tell with the stoic officer) exposed the band on his throat, compounding Starscream's own lack thereof.

The Air Commander scowled fiercely, though inwardly hysterical at the roundabout admonishment, turning back to feign being absorbed with the data stream. Only a few more astroseconds, and he could retreat back to the sanctuary of his own quarters until—

"Screamer! Hey, we've been looking for you for a whole joor," Skywarp exaggerated jovially, breaking the extraordinary tranquility of the command deck. Behind him, Thundercracker loomed up, grinning broadly.

Starscream's spark sank.

Hastily rising to his feet, the flustered Air Commander went the opposite direction of the troublesome duo. "I can't imagine why," He managed to drawl, on the edge of horror as they followed after him. "Shouldn't you be out terrifying some helpless organics by now?"

"No, no. We were going to go out for a little joyflying, actually, which is why we were looking for you. We had an interesting chat with the Constructicons," Skywarp continued blithely, his voice discordantly loud.

"Whyever for?" Starscream squawked, distressed, lengthening his gait to accommodate their own increasing speed. He wasn't far from the door; it was so close….

"You haven't gotten your scan yet," Thundercracker chimed in, voice impassive.

Skywarp couldn't constrain his chuckle at Starscream's look of raw panic. "So we thought we'd just swing by the med bay on our way out—"

"Ah, that's not necessary, I have work to do," Starscream overrode his trinemate's offer, at the door. It opened with the magnificent, familiar hiss. Blessed escape was just a few strides away. "I'll just—"

Megatron, face deathly straight, took that moment to intervene. "It is a mandatory check up, Starscream. You should have gotten it cycles ago." The Commander reprimanded lightly, inflection smooth. He (and most other longtime officers) had long been aware of Starscream's… phobia. In truth, he didn't much see the point in such scans, and consequently had never forced the issue. As a bonus, the knowledge of an impending threat of vaccination usually made the Air Commander rather more tractable. Some opportunities, however, were simply too perfect to pass up.

Pinned, Starscream hesitated, logic centers dissolving in terror. "I, I—"

"Well?" Prompted the Commander, looking to the entire world the least manipulative tyrant ever sparked.

Starscream stared up at him, opened his mouth to reply, and bolted out the open door.

With a triumphant cry, Skywarp bounded out the door after him, Thundercracker on his thrusters. "I _knew_ it!" He slid as he hit the corner, throwing out his arms to catch his balance. Starscream had already gone down one of the next set of halls. "TC, take left." Commanded the exultant Seeker, racing down the right corridor.

Grumping quietly that running was his least favorite activity, Thundercracker did as directed, plodding at a steady clip down the passageway. \_He's fast. We're probably not going to catch up_.\

_\Don't underestimate my genius, TC. He's heading one of two ways – to his quarters, or to the hangar_.\ Skywarp replied confidently. \_I'm betting on the hangar_.\

Gathering himself, Skywarp threw himself forward, activating his teleporter—

"Gah!" Starscream skidded to a halt, nearly tumbling forward in shock as Skywarp appeared before him.

Laughing manically, Skywarp sprang forward, engaging his thrusters, intending to grapple the Air Commander to the floor. Unfortunately, Starscream saw it coming, dipping down so his trinemate shot over his head. Sprinting forward, Starscream twisted his body partially around, firing at random with his null rays. "Go away!"

He registered the sound of his wing mate teleporting out again—

"Get off of me, you defective moron!" Starscream bucked forward, driving his elbow back in a vain attempt to dislodge the evidently insane Skywarp. However, as his wing mate was clinging onto his wings, he found it quite impossible, and settled for thrashing, banging them both against the surrounding walls.

The universe lurched around him.

Disoriented, Starscream staggered madly as he hit solid metal again, nearly going on his knees as his gyros spun frantically. He felt Skywarp release him, heard the door ping as it was locked—

"He's all yours, boys!"

Icy dismay froze his spark, sending his energon pump working at triple time. Though it was futile, the Air Commander pivoted and sprang for the entrance, throwing himself against it. It didn't budge. Starscream spun back around, panicking, back pressed against the unresponsive doorway—

Six pitilessly gleeful optics greeted his own.

Skywarp nearly fell over guffawing as the sounds of null ray blasts and clanging metal sounded from the other side of the locked door. He clung to the wall, bent double in his hilarity, knees quivering under the strain of trying to hold him up. Painful sounding crashes and the clamor of falling equipment echoed hollowly throughout the halls, going on and on for _breems_, before the med bay fell ominously silent.

The same could not be said of the waiting Seeker.

Still sniggering, a jubilant Skywarp gave in to gravity, collapsing onto his knees, worn out by the exhilaration. "Oh," he gasped, clutching his midsection. "Oh, _that was great_."

Thundercracker dashed into view, expression hopeful until he caught sight of his wing mate. Crestfallen, he grunted, "Did I miss it?"

"Y-yeah, you did," Skywarp managed to choke out between giggles. "Oh, oh, TC, you, you should've heard it—"

"You couldn't _wait_?" Irked that he had missed all the fun, Thundercracker folded his arms. "Way to be a team, 'Warp."

Half crawling to his trinemate, Skywarp seized Thundercracker's leg, dragging himself upright with painstaking slowness. For his part, Thundercracker waited silently, fuming. "I—_giggle, snort_—couldn't hold – _snicker_ – him for long." Back on his feet, and with a solid 'con to prop himself against, Skywarp fell to his victorious laughter again, leaning most of his weight on Thundercracker's shoulders. "Ah, oh, so much shouting."

"Hmph," Thundercracker replied, extricating himself from his wing mate's grasp.

"Ah, TC, don't worry. I'll make it up to you." Recomposing himself, Skywarp straightened, grinning wider than the Grand Canyon.

Perusing the expression skeptically, Thundercracker sighed. "No, you won't. You'll forget." Still, the reconciliation was made; he unfolded his arms and settled for looking only mildly upset.

"Mm, true." Skywarp agreed, basking in the afterglow of conquest. Then, caught by a peculiar urge to see his handiwork, "They're probably done by now. Let's go see how our, ah, fearless leader is doing." Without waiting for a response, he reached out, clasping Thundercracker by one hand, and engaged in teleporter.

Unused to the stupefaction of warping, Thundercracker lurched, listing unsteadily toward the door. "Ugh," He grimaced, waiting for his gyroscopes to stop spinning before he dared click his optics back online. Once done with his after effects, he shook his head to clear the reverberations of static, and cleared his optical units.

The med bay was in ruins. Several berths were tipped onto their sides, tables thrown into corners, laser burns littering the surrounding walls. In the center of it all, an offline Starscream was heaved back onto the sole remaining undamaged berth, placed there with ungentle hands by Bonecrusher and Longhaul.

Ignoring the reappeared trinemates, the rest of the Constructicons – duty done – dispersed, going back to their various activities.

Feeling particularly bold after his success, Skywarp sauntered to the berth; smirk, impossibly, broadening with his amusement. Starscream flopped gracelessly, limbs akimbo, the top of his helmet dented. One optic had a small crack along the edge of it, further testament to his harsh treatment. But the white band was in place; Skywarp's work was done. "Well, well, hello, there. He's not dead, is he?"

"Of course not," Hook scoffed, unable to ignore the question, as it somewhat insulted his competence. "Do you think we'd be laying him out if we wanted to kill him yet?"

"Mm," Skywarp chuckled lightly, before leaning in closer, tapping his Air Commander's head with one knuckle. "Wakey, wakey, Sunshine."

A blue hand shot up, capturing a terribly surprised Skywarp by the throat. Starscream's optics flared, boring into his captive's own with fervent hate. "_You. Are. __**Deactivated**_."

Gagging, Skywarp clutched the immovable limb, prying his fingers into Starscream's own. In response, the grip tightened, gears straining. \_TC_!\ In hysterics, Skywarp radioed his companion, struggling to escape the vise of Starscream's hand. The null rays began to power up. \_Help_!\

Mildly pleased at his trinemate's treatment, Thundercracker only intervened when firepower was threatened. Gathering his power, he directed a sonic boom at his wing mates, chortling under his vocalizer.

The two vibrated as the close-range blast hit them. Starscream, startled, released Skywarp, and was promptly jarred off the recharge berth. Skywarp, for his part, recovered much more quickly. He whirled about, still quaking in the sound blast, grabbed Thundercracker's wrist, and teleported them both away.

Coughing to clear his vocalizer, Starscream clutched at the top of the berth, hoisting himself onto his knees. One hand covered his injured throat as the motion jostled it, forcing the Air Commander to grimace. From there, he remarkably managed his feet, leaning heavily against the metal berth. "Kill them both," He muttered darkly, swaying uncertainly, before setting off toward the door.

"Bye-bye, birdie," one of the gestalt team called after, sweetly. "Don't forget to come back for your check-up."

Knowing that looking about to see just which one would cost him effort and most likely aggravate his throbbing scan-wound, Starscream settled for grumbling several obscenities in various interstellar languages. To this, the Constructicons only chortled, ignoring the myriad of threats implied by the invectives.

Punching in the unlocking overriding sequence (rank had its privileges), Starscream wobbled out of the med bay. Only when confirming he was quite alone, he fell against the wall, nearly trembling. "Ugh," His voice, already scratchy, was unbearably abrasive, coming across as harsh to his own audios.

_Kill them both_, he thought, settling for thoughts over vocalizations. _Kill them both, painfully_. He began to totter forward, setting a direct route for his suddenly incredibly welcoming quarters, woe to any who crossed his path on the way there. _Kill them both, painfully_… after _overcharging to the point of oblivion_.

Plan in place, the Air Commander made his way forward, delightful scenes of slaughter filling his CPU.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Skywarp desperately changed all the locking codes on his quarters, Thundercracker laughing uproariously in the far corner.

Further elsewhere, Soundwave cut the video feed from the base's various monitors, stopping the recording sequence for future prosperity. All in all, he thought, it was a normal day in Decepticon HQ.


End file.
